http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au...arch-for-sponsor/story-fnj94ixl-1227186500318
Gold Coast Titans vow not to sell themselves short in search for sponsor
GOLD Coast Titans CEO Graham Annesley says the club will not undersell its naming-rights sponsorship despite the possibility of heading into the NRL season without a major backer.
The Titans are battling to fill the multimillion-dollar blackhole left by iSelect, who pulled out of the final two years of their four-year commitment because of off-field controversies.
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Annesley has been in negotiations with a number of companies for about a year, even flying to China to try to secure a multinational brand.
But so far the search has been fruitless and the Titans are now facing the prospect of kicking off the NRL season in March without major support.
The players yesterday gathered at Cbus Super Stadium for their annual team photograph wearing jerseys without branding on the front.
But Annesley said the club wasnt about to discount its major sponsorship price just to start the season with a logo.
Titans CEO Graham Annesley says the club will not sell itself short just to start the season with a logo on its jersey.
We havent secured a naming-rights sponsor yet, he said.
Were doing everything we can to try to secure one. Were still trying and meeting with companies. Were not going to have a fire sale and undersell it.
In our view its worth a particular price and we would prefer to hold out for that price because if you undersell, it ­devalues sponsorship across the entire competition.
It also means youve set a market price then which is very difficult to recover from.
The brand is more important than that. Other clubs ­financial futures are more important than that.
We are not going to sell it off at a discounted price just so that we can go into the competition with a logo on a jersey.
The sponsorship market has been tough for many NRL clubs in recent years.
Cronulla have battled to secure a major backer while Canberra turned to a Chinese company to find support.
The Titans had solid support from Jetstar in their infancy before iSelect took over the major sponsorship, only to cut their association short.
Major sponsorship is big money and theres not businesses on every corner that can afford that, Annesley said.
Theres no timeline. Weve got to get the right deal.
The Titans have had a tough few years, nearly crumbling under eight-figure debts in 2012 while player behaviour has also been a concern.
Greg Bird was recently stripped of the co-captaincy after urinating in public and the club sacked emerging star Paul Carter last month when he was caught drink-driving for the second time in six months.
I dont really want to revisit any of that, Annesley said
